This year, town leaders are asking residents to put $15,000 in the legal services account and approve using up to $25,000 from the unappropriated surplus account for unexpected expenses, “with $20,000 designated solely for legal defense expenses,” the town’s warrant articles state.

“If we should go over what we appropriated, this saves us from calling a special town meeting,” Town Clerk Deborah Hodgins said Friday.

If the town spends more than $5,000 on an item, residents must approve the expenditure, she explained.

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This year’s annual town meeting is scheduled for March 16.

Clifton planners unanimously approved the Pisgah Mountain wind farm in October 2011 — after a nearly three-year process — but the project has been stalled by a series of appeals filed by Rebel Hill Farm owners Peter and Julie Beckford.